Progress has been made in negotiations between the European Union and Canada over a wide-ranging wine and spirits industry deal, according to EU agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler.
He told a meeting of the EU Council of Ministers for agriculture and fisheries that a draft agreement was ready for approval. He said it “presented certain advantages, (particularly) the ending by Canada of the use of certain names, the protection of geographical names, a positive list of oenological practices and a list of prohibited practices.”
Taking into account the intensifying debates at the World Trade Organisation over a global agreement on geographical indications, he called on the council to take a “quick decision” on the draft deal.
